The 'Mother of Modern Feminism', Simone de Beauvoir was an extraordinary intellectual, French writer, political activists and social theorist. Her life exemplified the emergence of female-centric revolutionary ideas and struggle for social structure free from patriarchal ideas. She laid down a political roadmap for reinvention and polarization of the society. Being extremely intelligent for her age, Simone completed her graduation at the delicate age of 17 and earned her advanced degree when she was just 19. She was the youngest person to achieve an aggregation in philosophy who scored second highest marks in this test. Simone, the 'lady of letters' wrote on popularized social taboos like politics, morality, gender theory, sexuality, philosophy, literary criticism and existentialism. Along with her partner Jean-Paul Sarte, this legendary intellectual wrote several novels, memoirs, magazines and columns. Before her death, she had produced countless essays and 20 ground-breaking books. Her best works include 'The Second Sex', 'She Came to Say' and 'The Ethics of Ambiguity'. Simone's autography 'The Mandarins' that beautifully captures her life struggles brought her France's highest literary Honor. Throughout her life, de Beauvoir lived a controversial but star-like life, meeting foreign dignitaries and getting followed by the paparazzi. A headstrong person with clear-cut ideologies, Simone is an inspiration for modern-day women. Her thoughts and quotes reflect her intellectualism. We have gathered together Simone de Beauvoir's most thought-provoking quotes. Presenting a collection of Simone de Beauvoir's quotes excerpted from her work and life.
I am too intelligent, too demanding, and too resourceful for anyone to be able to take charge of me entirely. No one knows me or loves me completely. I have only myself
In itself, homosexuality is as limiting as heterosexuality: the ideal should be to be capable of loving a woman or a man; either, a human being, without feeling fear, restraint, or obligation.
Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition: the clean becomes soiled, the soiled is made clean, over and over, day after day.
Two separate beings, in different circumstances, face to face in freedom and seeking justification of their existence through one another, will always live an adventure full of risk and promise." (p. 248)
Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with absolute truth.